Questions to ask yourself before starting a new business venture

Entrepreneurship is not a easy journey, probably one of the most difficult journeys when it comes to success so it is important that you have the correct mentality from the get go. Ask yourself:

What are my motives?

What is it that you really want? Fame? Power? If any of those are your motives, it’s best you take a step back and re-evaluate. Like we said on our previous entrepreneurship article “How to choose which business to start”, passion is the core driving force behind any successful business so your motives should be driven by a passion, which flows from purpose. If you happen to be famous or powerful, that’s just a bonus but you will also need persistence on your journey.

How comfortable am I with failure?

Start ups are difficult and failure is inevitable so being afraid of failure will put you in a position where you never do anything that involves risks, keeping in mind that starting a business is a risk on its own. With that being said, you should embrace any failures and learn from them to improve what needs improving.

What is the problem I’m looking to solve in the market?

Success usually comes from satisfying a problem/gap in the market. Remember, this can include looking to provide better quality goods/services in the market and not just a fresh unique concept.

Who is going to buy and why?

KNOW YOUR MARKET. Getting people to spend money on your product/service is challenging because it has to be worth it for them to do so. Anyone outside your family and close friends couldn’t care less about what you’re doing thus, as stated by forbes.com, get very specific about the type of buyers you’re trying to reach, their motives, and your ability to reach them. What methods are you going to use to acquire customers, and what is the acquisition cost to do so?

Can my concept be easily described and understood?

If your market does not understand your concept than you’re in big trouble. The more consumers understand the concept, the more they will support it so therefore, if your concept is a bit complicated, simplify it and if that still doesn’t do it justice, you will need to be creative in your marketing methods.

The journey of entrepreneurship is one of constant learning so therefore, you will need to be open to learning new things everyday to make yourself better and ultimately, better your business.